The Closest Of Planets

An odd pair of distant worlds - one rocky like Earth (Kepler-36b) and another gassy like Neptune (Kepler-36c) - have been found doing the closest dance of any planetary pair ever discovered.

Kepler-36c would appear three times larger than the Moon in our skies.

Ancient cave art could be Neanderthal

Researchers have found cave paintings in Spain that are up to 40,000 years old, suggesting they might have been created by Neanderthals.

Jupiter's family of moons grows by two

The largest planet in our solar system is home to two of the smallest moons.  The discovery pushes the number of Jovian moons to 67.  Named S/2010 J 1 and S/2010 J 2, the two moons are only three and two kilometres in size respectively.

S/2010 J 1 (circled) measures three kilometres in diameter and takes two years to orbit the planet Jupiter.

Mysterious cosmic burst captured in trees

In the late eighth century, Earth was hit by a mystery blast of cosmic rays. Analysis of two ancient trees found a surge in carbon-14 - a carbon isotope that derives from cosmic radiation - which occurred just in AD 774 and AD 775.

Crabs locate on the basis of soundscapes

Sounds given off by coastal reefs help crab larvae to settle into their ideal coastal home.

Magnetism said to help baby turtles through epic journey

It has been one of the more enduring mysteries of biology: how baby sea turtles, barely longer than a thumb, undertake one of the most spectacular migrations in the animal kingdom—alone.  Now, scientists say they may have a handle on how the loggerhead turtle hatchlings do it: an internal compass that responds to changing magnetic fields.

Hereditary inequality may date to Stone Age

Hereditary inequality began over 7,000 years ago in the Stone Age.  The signs of inequality that emerged in the new research are less obvious than evidence that has been uncovered from later times—when clear trappings of relative wealth appear in some graves more than others. But it shows the seeds of this process were sown earlier.

Life might have formed as early as 10-12 billion years ago

Physicists are reporting that conditions allowing life to form could have existed in some galaxies as early as 10 billion to 12 billion years ago—in the first quarter of the history of our universe.

Progenesis A Factor In Bird Speciation From Dinosaurs

Rather than take years to reach sexual maturity, as many dinosaurs did, birds sped up the clock allowing them to retain the physical characteristics of baby dinosaurs.

Skulls of three types of archosaur—alligator, primitive dinosaur, and early bird. The left column represents juveniles and the right column represents adults.